March 12, 2008
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Penn State University softball team (12-8) took on the Rams of Fordham University (7-11) defeating them 2-1 before falling in the second game to Radford University (14-5), 1-0 (8).
In the first game the Nittany Lions strung together 10 hits and scored two runs to topple the Rams. Senior Ashley Esparza (San Pedro, Calif./San Pedro) and redshirt freshman Jackie Hill (San Jose, Calif./Leigh) combined to hold the Rams to only one run as Esparza picked up the win and Hill the save.
Esparza also went 2-for-4 at the plate with one RBI while sophomore Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J./Lenape) and junior Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) went 2-for-3. Four others added hits while Hollee Haines (Riverside, Calif./Martin Luther King) picked up the remaining RBI.
Esparza pitched six innings while striking out four. Hill pitched the final inning striking out one and picking up the save.
In game two it took an extra inning to decide the contest as Radford scored the deciding run in the top of the eighth. Esparza was the only Nittany Lion to register a hit as she went 1-for-3 while Hill pitched the entire eight innings. Hill had two strikeouts while allowing a run.